An eight-week-old baby died of sepsis just hours after an out-of-hours doctor turned her away from hospital and told her parents “bring her back tomorrow”.
Tragic Felicity George turned blue and stopped breathing the morning after her mum Emma, 24, was “fobbed off” by a “patronising” doctor on May 28.
Emma had taken her daughter, who was born premature, to an urgent care centre because she had a temperature, wasn’t feeding and was difficult to wake up.
But she said a doctor at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley, West Mids., just examined her and checked her temperature before sending them on their way.
Emma and her husband Lee, 29, woke the next morning (29/5), to find their daughter was not breathing.
Little Felicity was taken back to hospital in an ambulance but sadly nothing could be done to save her.
A post mortem examination revealed she had died of sepsis, caused by pneumonia.
Emma, of Brierley Hill, West Mids., said she is now urging other new mums to trust their mother’s intuition.
She added: “I trusted the doctor and took my daughter home, where we carried on her normal routine.
“He looked at her and took her temperature but did no other checks.
“He told me there was a six hour wait at A&E and said ‘you look like a sensible mother, if she gets any worse bring her back tomorrow’.
“But when we woke up the next morning, our world shattered.
“She had turned blue and wasn’t breathing.
“We called an ambulance and they took her to hospital, where they did all they could, but she was gone.
“I have never felt so lost and broken in my life.
“We don’t want anyone else to go through what we have.
“A mother’s intuition is key – the doctor is not always right.
“People need to trust their instincts.
“I knew there was something wrong with Fliss but the doctor was horrible.
“I don’t want any other families to be fobbed off like we were.”
The couple, who believe Felicity’s life could have been saved if more physical checks were carried out by the medic, have lodged a complaint with Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which is currently being investigated.
The couple, who met three and a half years ago, each have a son from different relationships and also have a son together.
Emma said after Felicity’s death they discussed the possibility of having another child “not to replace Felicity but to try and mend our broken family.”
However, Lee, a HGV driver, had a vasectomy in January, when Emma was five months pregnant.
Lee put in an application to get the vasectomy reversed but was left shocked when it was refused.
Emma said: “When we found out I was pregnant, it was like the final piece of the puzzle.
“Lee decided to get a vasectomy as our family was complete – we already have a little boy together and a boy each from previous relationships.
“You never think anything will happen to your children.
“They are now saying that we don’t have enough circumstances to get it reversed.
“If our daughter was still here we would not be asking for a reversal, we would be a happy family.
“What other circumstances do they need?”
The couple have lodged an appeal and have also contacted Dudley South MP Mike Wood, who has also wrote to Dudley CCG, to request that “in the light of the very exceptional and unique circumstances, the decision for the NHS not to fund the reverse of the vasectomy is reconsidered”.
But the couple are “less than hopeful” that their appeal will be successful so have started a JustGiving page to raise £3,500 to fund the operation.
They have currently raised around £1,300.
Emma thanked everyone who had donated, adding: “We just want to make our beautiful angel a proud big sister.”
Laura Broster, director of communication and public insight at Dudley CCG, said: “We would like to offer our condolences to Mrs George and her family.
“The complaints raised by the family are currently being investigated by Dudley CCG on behalf of the family and it would not be appropriate for us to comment any further.”
People who wish to help the couple can do so via www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/emma-george.
